The nurse residency program
is part of the US Department of Health and
Human Services’ Advanced Nursing Education – Nurse Practitioner Residency
Program Grant, which is designed to prepare new nurse practitioners to deliver
high-quality primary care in community-based settings. The primary care
residency is a year-long program in which nurse practitioner residents will
complete academic coursework and clinical hours in rural and underserved areas.

Nena Sanders, vice provost of the Samford University College of Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Nursing, tells alabamanewscenter.com, “For nearly 100 years, Ida Moffett School of Nursing has prepared well-equipped, compassionate nurses to serve the underserved. This grant affords us the opportunity to enhance the knowledge and skill sets of our graduates and intentionally place caring, competent nurse practitioners where the needs are greatest.”

The grant will facilitate the
launch of the primary care nurse residency which will be housed in the School
of Nursing. The program will focus on developing new family nurse practitioners
with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to improve the quality and
safety of rural health care systems.

Out of 67 counties in Alabama,
55 of them are considered rural and only two of those 55 are considered to have
the minimum number of providers available. During their rotations, residents
will receive training in vital telehealth technology to help reduce
accessibility issues for patients who are forced to travel long distances
to seek necessary care.

To learn more about the four-year,
$3.5 million grant awarded to Samford University’s Ida Moffett School of
Nursing to help the university place nurse practitioner graduates in
rural, underserved areas for primary care residency, visit here.

Dawson will serve a
two-year term as the organization’s 13th president. She was recently sworn in
during the annual NBNA Institute and Conference in New Orleans in late July.
She is also a member of the Birmingham Black Nurses Association chapter of NBNA.

According to birminghamtimes.com,
the NBNA’s mission is “to serve as the voice for black
nurses and diverse populations ensuring equal access to professional
development, promoting educational opportunities and improving health.”

Dawson’s career in
nursing spans more than 40 years. She is a two-time graduate of the UAB School
of Nursing and a member of the UAB School of Nursing faculty since 2008. She
has led the highly ranked graduate nursing administration specialty track at
UAB and served in a number of roles, including principal investigator for a Health
Resources and Services Administration workforce investment grant.

Dawson tells birminghamtimes.com, “I am prepared, ready and willing to serve and guide NBNA into the future and place the organization on the global stage as knowledgeable, professional nursing leaders. I firmly support NBNA’s commitment to serve African American communities, increase the number of African American nurses, and improve equity, equality and inclusivity in health education, service, practice and research.”

The NBNA was created
by Dr. Lauranne Sams, former dean of the Tuskegee University School of Nursing,
in 1971. It is a nonprofit organization, which represents 150,000 African
American registered nurses, licensed vocational/practical nurses, nursing students, and retired
nurses from the US, Eastern Caribbean, and Africa, with 92 chartered chapters
in 35 states.

To learn more about Martha
Dawson, DNP, an assistant professor at the UAB
School of Nursing who has been elected to serve as president of the National
Black Nurses Association, visit here.

The mixed methods research certificate program is open
to doctoral and post-master students, instructors, researchers, and
practitioners. The curriculum
is designed to help students gain applied knowledge of how to plan, conduct,
and evaluate mixed methods research in diverse contexts, how to use mixed
methods to inform a meaningful intervention, and how to write an effective
mixed method grant proposal.

Nataliya Ivankova, PhD, program director and professor, Department of Health Services Administration in the School of Health Professions with a dual appointment in the School of Nursing, tells uab.edu, “We are very excited about this program because it helps fill in the gap in formal educational opportunities in mixed methods research in the United States. This program opens up new opportunities for students, faculty and researchers to build their mixed methods research capacity and become certified experts in mixed methods research.”

The certificate is offered through a partnership
between the UAB School of Health Professions and School of Nursing. Completing
the certificate requires five courses and can be completed in three to five
semesters. Applications are now being accepted for the fall semester.

Shirey has been recognized internationally for
her research in nursing leadership and management. Her research has addressed multiple
AONE priorities, including developing core competencies of nurse leaders across
the care continuum to support current and emerging roles; supporting the design
and implementation of care delivery and health management models; and
supporting the provision of safe, quality care and delivery systems grounded in
healthful practice.

Shirey tells uab.edu, “My research has identified the systems and support structures nurse managers need in order to be successful in their roles. Nurse managers are crucial because they lead from the middle. They’re the voice that really articulates the mission and vision of an organization in ways that benefit the patients and families we serve.”

Shirey’s role as a professor and associate dean in the
UAB School of Nursing has had tremendous impacts on the program. Her work as a principal
investigator on a four-year, $2.8 million Health Resources and Services
Administration grant project to develop a resilient primary care
registered nurse workforce has helped develop a new generation of
RNs who will work in medically underserved areas and work toward chronic
disease prevention and control. She has also been instrumental in opening a
nurse-managed, interprofessional transitional care clinic for heart failure
patients.

According to uab.edu, Shirey’s response to receiving the AONE Nurse Researcher of the Year award was, “For me, receiving the AONE nurse researcher award is an incredible honor. It’s recognition of the value and impact of my work over a long and productive career. This is an award for which I was nominated by colleagues in my field, and that makes it even more special.”

To learn more about Maria Shirey, PhD, a professor and
associate dean for Clinical and Global Partnerships at the UAB School of
Nursing who was recently named the AONE Nurse Researcher of the Year, visit here.

Morgan Yordy, an assistant professor, and Ann Lambert, an
assistant clinical professor, initiated the simulated experience for
second-semester nursing students. Two rooms in Auburn’s Engaging Active Group Learning
Environments in Simulation (EAGLES) Center were converted to reflect
a typical health department or hospital classroom. Community members
volunteered to portray parents of pediatric patients who were visiting the
school to gather additional information regarding immunizations for their
children. Students were responsible for educating them, including responding to
any questions or concerns.

Simulated experiences allow students to apply knowledge and skills
attained in class in an appropriate and realistic setting where faculty can
evaluate competencies. Auburn faculty reported that students provided accurate
and reliable information about the importance of children receiving vaccines,
emphasizing vaccine safety and efficacy, and the potential consequences of
parents choosing not to have their children vaccinated.

Meghan Jones, assistant clinical professor and director of clinical simulation and skills, tells AlabamaNewsCenter.com, “Students developed knowledge and communication skills to speak to community members regarding how to protect their children from many communicable diseases, and how to educate families, who may be hesitant, without bias or prejudice. Students reported they had the necessary knowledge and skills to discuss vaccine information with ‘concerned parents’ and, after the clinical session, they were more confident in their abilities to educate others.”

Measles is a contagious, airborne virus that causes serious health
complications and spreads through sneezing and coughing. Anyone not protected
against measles is at risk of acquiring the virus. Alabama currently has a high
rate of vaccination but the state could experience a measles outbreak if
children are not vaccinated. State law requires children to be up to date on
their vaccinations prior to attending school. Adolescents and college students
must also be up to date on their Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) immunizations.

To learn more about the immunization education through simulation exercises conducted by nursing students at Auburn University following reports on the rise of measles cases in the US, visit here.

Our Nurse of the Week is Ayana Red, a graduating senior of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) College of Nursing’s Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program who is focusing her research efforts on oral healthcare for geriatric patients. Red noticed that the oral healthcare of geriatric patients was being overlooked in nursing homes and longterm care facilities and decided she wanted to make an impact on care staff’s knowledge of oral care practices in older adults as well as improve oral health outcomes in geriatric patients.

Red developed a set of evidence-based oral care guidelines for staff to follow and created an oral care documentation checklist and guidelines to monitor oral care twice daily for two weeks. She then measured the oral health of participating residents three different times to determine if staff education and the evidence-based protocol would contribute to improvement in the oral health status of residents. Her project was successful in increasing staff knowledge of oral care practices and improving oral health outcomes in this vulnerable population.

In addition to working toward her DNP degree, Red has been a family nurse practitioner for nine years and first became interested in nursing while working as a medical laboratory technician in a local hospital in Mississippi. She experienced the significant impact that nurses make on patient’s lives and decided it was the right career path for her. After earning her BSN and MSN degrees from other programs, Red decided the UAH College of Nursing was the right place for her to earn her DNP.

Dr. Pamela O’Neal, UAH Associate Professor of Nursing, tells UAH.edu, “Dr. Ayana Red is a nurse who will change the health outcomes of older adults who reside in a nursing home. She has developed an evidence-based oral care protocol as a DNP Project, and data indicate oral health can improve significantly in just two to four weeks by attending to oral care twice daily. I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Red. She is an amazing person with such a promising future.”

With her new degree, Red plans to become a nurse educator and continue her research in improving health outcomes for geriatric populations. To learn more about Ayana Red’s experience as a DNP student and her research on oral healthcare in geriatric patients, visit here.